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WHY SEAT COVERS MAKE SENSE IN WORK TRUCKS

Sheldon explains why seat covers should be considered in Work Trucks, and how to choose a seat cover that's right for you.

If you own or manage work trucks, you’re familiar with what happens to seats after a little time on the road.

Every day that a truck is in service, it’s getting beat up, stained, and dirty. Different industries run into different issues. In package delivery, all of that in-and-out action breaks down the side of the seat and eventually tears the seams to bits. In equipment service, grease, dirt, and sweat build up and slowly ruin the vinyl or cloth. Either way – the seat damage compounds the longer that the truck is in service.

THREE WAYS SEATS GET EXPENSIVE: 

  1. REPAIR. Especially if you keep your trucks for longer, you’ll want to repair ripped-up and damaged seats to keep conditions better for the driver and keep the truck image clean. This is doubly expensive – the seat is expensive to fix, and there’s downtime while it’s getting fixed.
  2. LOST RESALE VALUE. Some people never fix or replace the seats. When it’s finally time to sell the truck, it gets shipped off as-is. When someone opens the door of that vehicle (whether it’s the dealership or the next owner), they’re greeted with an interior that looks like trash. That gives them the instant impression that it’s had a rough life, and that’s how you’ve taken care of the rest of the vehicle maintenance for the whole time you’ve owned it.
  3. LEASE CHARGEBACKS. Maybe you’re not repairing your seats OR reselling your vehicle because you lease them. Fine. Check into the charges that you get after turning in that leased vehicle – it’s normal for leasing companies to work in charges for seat damages. They’ll either be repairing that seat themselves before they remarket it, or they want to recover some of the resale value they will lose from you.

 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SEAT COVER

There should be four major checkboxes on your Seat Cover Shopping List:

  1. SAFE. Some covers out there aren’t airbag compatible. Not cool. Make sure that the covers you buy have been independently tested to work with your seat airbags. Another detail that may apply – car seat latches. Make sure that they’re still accessible when the cover is installed. (More on airbag compatibility here)
  2. TOUGH. Some cheap seat covers admittedly look great the first day that they’re installed. But check into what they’re made out of, and the warranty that’s offered. You want a cover that will last you the life of the vehicle, not one that your crew will pitch into the dumpster four months in.
  3. FITS WELL. Nobody wants to fight with the shifting, rolling edges.
  4. KEEPS EVERYTHING OFF OF YOUR SEAT. The whole point of a cover, right? It should stand up against dust, dirt, oil, spilled coffee, sweat, and any other nasties that the work day will bring on.

 

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